Trump Teases Nominating Top Senate Republican for Supreme Court

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz appeared momentarily caught off guard Wednesday night when President Donald Trump joked about nominating him to the U.S. Supreme Court during a public appearance in Washington, D.C.

Speaking at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium while promoting the administration’s new Trump Account initiative, President Trump praised Cruz as “a brilliant legal mind,” according to The Daily Mail, before delivering a punchline that drew laughter from the crowd.

“He’s a brilliant man,” Trump said. “If I nominate him for the United States Supreme Court, I will get 100 percent of the vote. The Democrats will vote for him because they want to get him the hell out, and the Republicans will vote for him because they want to get him the hell out, too.”

While the audience laughed, Cruz’s reaction appeared less amused. Addressing the moment shortly afterward on the Ruthless Podcast, Cruz flatly dismissed the idea.

“No, just no,” Cruz said, according to video obtained by the Daily Mail.

“Hell no,” he added.

Even if the comment had been more than humor, a Supreme Court nomination would require a vacancy — something not currently anticipated, as justices serve lifetime appointments.

The Ruthless Podcast, hosted by Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, and John Ashbrook, was the first to broadcast Cruz’s response. The hosts frequently interview Republican lawmakers and conservative political figures.

Though Trump’s remark was widely interpreted as a joke, it underscored that Cruz — once a fierce rival during the 2016 Republican primary — remains within President Trump’s political orbit during his second term.

That relationship has not been without tension. Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Cruz privately criticized President Trump and Vice President JD Vance while speaking with donors, warning of potential political fallout if economic conditions worsen.

“Mr. President, if we get to November of 2026 and people’s 401(k)s are down 30 percent and prices are up 10 to 20 percent at the supermarket, we’re going to go into Election Day and face a bloodbath,” Cruz allegedly told donors, according to Axios.

“You’re going to lose the House, you’re going to lose the Senate, and you’re going to spend the next two years being impeached every single week,” he said.

Trump was reportedly angered by the remarks.

“F you, Ted,” Cruz recounted Trump saying.

The exchange came amid speculation that Cruz is quietly laying the groundwork for a potential 2028 presidential bid.

The political backdrop shifted further Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court declined to reinstate a Florida immigration law that would have allowed state officials to prosecute migrants who entered Florida illegally. The court offered no explanation and noted no dissent as it rejected the state’s emergency request.

Florida’s law, SB 4-C, makes it a crime to enter the state after illegally entering the United States and evading federal immigration authorities. Notably, the Supreme Court previously allowed a similar Texas statute to take effect.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams — an appointee of former President Barack Obama — issued an indefinite injunction against Florida’s law, ruling it was likely preempted by federal immigration authority and unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that injunction, prompting Florida’s appeal to the high court.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier argued that the statute was carefully designed to align with federal law.

“Florida carefully crafted both provisions to track, mimic, and depend upon federal immigration law precisely,” he wrote, adding that a contrary ruling “strikes at the heart of states’ ability to protect their citizens from the devastating effects of illegal immigration.”

Why the Supreme Court permitted Texas’s law to proceed but blocked Florida’s remains unclear.

As legal battles continue, Democratic politicians — particularly in Minnesota — have continued to escalate rhetoric aimed at federal immigration agents, with critics accusing them of fueling public outrage through misleading and inflammatory claims about lawful enforcement operations under President Trump’s administration.